Trader Vic's/Polinesio, Havana, Cuba (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Fri, Jul 25, 2008 6:58 PM Name:Trader Vic's/Polinesio Type:restaurant Street:Between Calle 23 and 25, Vedado City:Havana State: Zip: country:Cuba Phone: Status:operational Description: Now that the Beverly Hills (1955) and the Chicago Trader Vic's (1957) are gone, this the oldest intact Trader Vic's in existence (1958). It was barely finished when Castro took over, and only open for a few months as Trader Vic's. Curiously, it's decor was used for the amazing 1964 Russian propaganda film "I am Cuba"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUINE6CrrDc I am not sure when it re-opened as the Polinesio, but other than the name (and the Tapa wall paper) little changed. Yet I am worried about it's fate. The fact that it has remained untouched is thanks to any communist country's habit of not fixing anything, but for the same reason, the lobby entrance from the Hotel it is situated in has remained closed for some years now. Some plaster fell off the ceiling of the stairwell or something, and instead of fixing it, they just closed the access. This means that one has to walk outside the Havana Libre Hotel and around it now to get to the restaurant, so there is little or no tourist business in there, it stays empty. I hope that, just with the rest of Havana's mid-century gems, any new owners will realize what a rarety they have and restore it to its authentic glory.

Name:Trader Vic's/Polinesio
Type:restaurant
Street:Between Calle 23 and 25, Vedado
City:Havana
State:
Zip:
country:Cuba
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
Now that the Beverly Hills (1955) and the Chicago Trader Vic's (1957) are gone, this the oldest intact Trader Vic's in existence (1958). It was barely finished when Castro took over, and only open for a few months as Trader Vic's. Curiously, it's decor was used for the amazing 1964 Russian propaganda film "I am Cuba"-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUINE6CrrDc

I am not sure when it re-opened as the Polinesio, but other than the name (and the Tapa wall paper) little changed. Yet I am worried about it's fate. The fact that it has remained untouched is thanks to any communist country's habit of not fixing anything, but for the same reason, the lobby entrance from the Hotel it is situated in has remained closed for some years now. Some plaster fell off the ceiling of the stairwell or something, and instead of fixing it, they just closed the access. This means that one has to walk outside the Havana Libre Hotel and around it now to get to the restaurant, so there is little or no tourist business in there, it stays empty. I hope that, just with the rest of Havana's mid-century gems, any new owners will realize what a rarety they have and restore it to its authentic glory.

Post #396581 by bigbrotiki on Fri, Jul 25, 2008 6:58 PM